DIY Grazing Boxes
Raising backyard chickens is really not that hard and it’s a great source of cheap entertainment and delicious homegrown eggs. The biggest challenge we’ve faced as backyard chicken owners is reducing the cost of the organic, non-GMO, soy-free feed we purchase. Depending on the size of your flock, you can easily go through a bag…
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Our Chicken Massacre + Takeaway Tips for Critter-Proofing Your Chicken Coop
Two and a half years into being backyard chicken people and we didn’t have one issue with predators. Then, one day in March, we lost a chicken and it was all our fault. We got a little too lazy and forgot to close the chickens into their coop one night. It was an awful sight….
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Backyard Chickens: Free Range vs. Enclosed Run
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost two years since we acquired our first set of cute little fluffy cheeps and set off to build a chicken coop that ended up costing us an arm and a leg (how many eggs do we have to sell again?) and a lot of lessons learned. Since then…
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Why I Love Having a Mixed Flock of Chickens
“So how many do you have now?” People ask when I tell them I have chickens. “Umm, 13.” I reply. Usually I don’t get a weird look, but every now and then I can only imagine what that person is thinking. Yes, I am a crazy chicken lady. No, you can never have enough chickens….
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6 Easy Veggies for the Preggo Gardener to Grow
In the beginning of my pregnancy I had big plans for my vegetable garden. I had already faced many obstacles during my previous three gardening seasons which resulted in little to no harvest, so I was determined to make this Fall a successful one. Despite knowing that I would be in the last few weeks…
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#BeeBold: 4 Easy Ways to Help the Bees (And All the Other Important Pollinators)
This post was created as part of the Friends of the Earth #BeeBold Campaign in which I am a financially compensated blogger. The opinions are my own and based on my own personal experience. “The bee! The bee! There goes the bee!” One of Andrew’s favorite books is called The Honey Hunt by the Berenstain…
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Why I Use SeedsNow Seeds for My Garden
Psstt.. every Wednesday I write a post called “Why I” and last week I wrote one on Why I Use Einkorn Flour — just in case you missed it. Before I was introduced the world of Monsanto, buying seeds for my garden was such an innocent, no-brainer task. Post-Monsanto-GMO-Crazy-Whirlwind, buying seeds actually seemed a bit daunting and I was left…
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Tip: How to Tell When Your Chicken Will Start Laying Eggs (Video)
Waiting for your first egg is like waiting for your baby to come but the difference is that you don’t really have a due date to go by, just a due “month(s).” Your labor consists of the months leading up to that first egg, where you go out each day and care for your chickens as…
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Why I Don’t Refrigerate My Backyard Eggs
Psstt.. every Wednesday I write a post called “Why I” and last week I wrote one on Why I Chose the RIE Method of Parenting — just in case you missed it. I remember the first time I had been exposed to non-refrigerated eggs and I was a bit shocked. “I have to run an errand before…
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Natural Pest Control For the Garden
Note from Naturally Loriel: Today’s resourceful post comes from Claire over at Bloom. I LOVE her knowledge in gardening and chickens. I love this post especially since I am having issues with pests in my garden… and I am sure you are too! She’s written some great topics on Naturally Loriel about gardening like this one about…
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Why I Raise Chickens
Fluffy butts, fresh eggs, being a crazy chicken lady… what more could you want in life? Possibly more chickens, but that just goes without saying. #MustHaveALLTheChickens 5 years ago I never imagined I’d have 13 chickens in my backyard or that I’d be dunking chickens in salt water and then dish soap for 20 minutes…
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Lessons Learned: Brooder Boxes for Chicks
Nothing is more exciting than bringing home your first (or second.. or third) set of cheep cheeping chicks. That being said, sometimes it’s easy to forget exactly what you need to have in order before the chicks actually arrive. I’ve made the mistake, twice, of not having my brooder set up so it could be a nice easy…
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Gardening Hand Care Tips + Citrus & Rosemary Healing Hand Scrub
Note from Naturally Loriel: Today’s exciting DIY comes from Amanda of Refocus on Being. Amanda knows her stuff when it comes to DIY and picking ingredients to help achieve whatever result you are wanting. She’s also a fellow real food lover and activist and loves getting her hands dirty in the garden. My kind of girl! If you…
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You Might Be a Crazy Chicken Lady If…
Those memes really meant it when they said chickens are like potato chips and you can’t just have one. Considering my track record with how I have a hard time not finishing a bag of potato chips to myself (especially when paired with my homemade french onion dip), chickens could be considered dangerous territory. But have…
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How to Make Chicken Poop Into Fertilizer for Your Garden
Note from Naturally Loriel: Today’s resourceful post comes from Claire over at Bloom. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Claire over the past few months as a Scratch Mommy Contributor (I edit all the content that goes out on Scratch Mommy) and I LOVE her knowledge in gardening and chickens. I love this post especially since I…
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The Easy No-Research Approach to Creating a Pollinator-Friendly Garden
When I thought I was smart, I didn’t think flowers were a necessity to have in my garden. Why use precious space with flowers when I could grow more food? Now that I am wiser, I have realized that flowers are an absolute necessity to have in garden and for two good reasons: to deter…
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Growing Sprouts as Treats for Chickens
It’s no secret by now that we are in “how-to-save-the-most-money-while-raising-non-gmo-organic-backyard-chicken-eggs” mode. There has been a lot of projects and experimenting around here. So much that Scott often wonders if the “honey-do” list will ever end. No, honey… It won’t ever end. 😀 To recap, so far we have: Created an extended chicken run using free…
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Tips for Succession Planting (Getting the Most Out of Your Garden)
Note from Naturally Loriel: Today’s helpful gardening post comes from Claire over at Bloom. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Claire over the past few months as a Scratch Mommy Contributor (I edit all the content that goes out on Scratch Mommy) and I LOVE her knowledge in gardening and chickens. If you haven’t checked…
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DIY Pallet Top Garden: Using the most of your space to create a garden friendly for chickens and people!
What does one do when they come to realize they are spending $80 a month on feed for their 8 fluffy awesome chickens? Yes, catch your breath for a minute. You read that right, $80 a month. The answer is: become creative and find ways to SAVE money while still feeding your girls right. By not being…
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Top 4 Supplies to Grow Healthy Garden Seedlings
Note from Naturally Loriel: Today’s informative post comes from Anna of Green Talk. If you’re into green living, gardening, and sustainability you have to take some of your time and spend it on her site. If I were you, I’d start with this garden hack that gets rid of squash bugs or learning about natural weed killers and what works. Thanks for joining…
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